North Macedonia’s population shrank by nearly 10% since 2002

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Statistics officials say North Macedonia has lost nearly 10% of its population over the last two decades mostly due to emigration, based on the official results of a 2021 census. The population decrease came mainly as a result of young people leaving the country, which is one of the poorest in Europe, over the last decade to find better paid jobs in Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. State Statistical Office Director Apostol Simovski told reporters in the capital Skopje Wednesday that two decades after the last census was conducted, the country’s population during the 2002-2021 period decreased by 9.2%.